I Unintentionally Became Her Kitten

Chapter 67: Shock

We rode for quite a while, and out of the city. I wondered about the Escapade. But maybe he was concerned it would be recognized too easily. They weren't the most common car nor the most common SUV as there were quite a few cheaper makes. On top of that she maintained hers in its shiny like-new condition and the back windows were tinted practically solid black.

Tye’s car, on the other hand, blended in with the sparse traffic we ran into. He did speed, a decision I questioned since it would be hard to explain the amount of blood on Alisha and I if he got pulled over, but we slipped away without much trouble.

He finally slowed on a back road that was treed in on both sides and pulled up outside a small house. I figured this was a safe house. That would make the most sense.

Alisha restlessly got out once the car was stopped. She still had the skirt of her dress on, and the T-shirt so she was clothed, just not well. It couldn't be particularly comfortable for her.

She came around to help me out, and kept my weight somewhat supported on her, a habit everyone seemed to be doing to me right now. I didn’t understand it. I was unsteady, I knew that much. But I wasn’t that bad.

Tye unlocked the door to the house and I quickly realized this was not a safe house. Someone lived here. There were shoes by the door and a cat’s toy mouse was tucked away in one of the corners.

Despite the situation, that excited me. It had been so long since I got to pet a cat, but the said animal came around from the corner and stared warily at the new people. It was a glossy black cat with bright green eyes; the kind of cat that turned into a void in the dark.

Tye went over and scooped it up before half-tossing it into a room to the side and shutting the door.

Was this his house? I realized. He had a pet cat? He struck me as more of a dog person… but I guessed with his job, a dog just wasn’t really feasible. 

He then pointed to a dining table in the middle of this large conjoined living room, dining room, and kitchenette and Alisha helped me over to it and sat me down in one of the chairs. Before long there was a mug of hot liquid in front of me. I stared at it. A latte? No. Hot chocolate, I realized. I couldn’t smell it but the mug was stinging my fingers so it would scald me if I tried to drink it right away.

I looked up and found Tye in his little kitchenette focusing on getting some glasses of water and he also grabbed a pill bottle from his far cabinet, the one most difficult to reach.

This he gave to Alisha. It wasn’t labeled for what it was. Probably strong painkillers. Possibly the addictive kind.

I realized Alisha was watching me closely.

“What?” I asked her.

Her mouth moved silently and she stopped and restarted, this time speaking slower, enunciating words again with clear syllables. “Stay awake,” she told me.

“The concussion?” I asked slowly.

She nodded. “And you’re in shock,” she pointed out.

Why did people keep telling me that?

“I don’t feel too bad,” I told her.

She gave my knee a pat and I remembered my dress, now bloodied and ruined. Crap. Alisha spent a lot of money on this dress…

Tye put a glass of juice down in front of Alisha and she accepted it gratefully.

He then came around with some paper towels and some water and cleaned her hands of the blood. There was still so much blood. It was drying and getting dark and tacky. And then he did me, as best as he could with the bandage on my one hand. It felt better to have my skin clean, at least and he discarded the tainted paper towels but left Alisha and I with quite a few more.

A bit later the doctor-man returned and he took his time giving Alisha a proper examination, listening to her heart and her breathing and looking in her ears, determining, unsurprisingly, that her ear drums were ruptured. And then he did me. He listened to my heart with the cold metal, and then my breathing. He checked my pulse and as with Alisha, looked in my ears to find ruptured eardrums. He took a step back to look in my face and shined a light in my eyes and did the standard set of concussion questions.

It was determined that we would not die from this, I gathered, since he relaxed and instead made a gesture to Alisha who pushed her chair out and shrugged off that t-shirt so he could continue working on her back.

I could see the injury now. There were quite a few stitches across it but it was barely bleeding, just a thin line in her iodine-stained skin. The doctor wiped it away and pushed and pulled gently at the stitches before approving it was good and safe. He got some ointment and spread a thin layer across her skin, and then taped some gauze over it to keep it covered.

And then he came back over to me and unwrapped the bandage on my hand.

The cut was still grotesque looking, more so with the dark stains but he cleaned it off with some damp paper towels and examined Tye's handiwork with a scrutiny I wasn't sure Tye deserved. But he did approve of it and gave me a similar treatment to Alisha, explaining some things I couldn't hear… but I knew the basics of wound care. Don't get it wet, watch for signs of infection, keep antibiotic ointment on it and keep it covered and clean. My injury wasn't even half as bad as Alisha’s. She had lost a lot of blood from it. That was probably why Tye was refilling her juice glass and urging her to drink it again.

It was still pretty strange to hear almost nothing of the world around me. It felt like I was watching a silent film, but without subtitles and in full color.

The doctor left again, leaving us to sort ourselves out. Alisha and Tye were discussing some things, but at the angle I couldn't even read their lips.

And then Alisha stood and wandered into the back area of the house, into one of the rooms back there.

Tye urged me to drink and I finally took a sip of the hot chocolate. I couldn't taste anything either, I realized with disappointment. But the liquid was warm and creamy at least.

When Alisha came back she was significantly cleaner and sat next to me, pointing at the glass of water Tye had left for me.

Did she want it? I pushed it toward her but she shook her head. She wanted me to drink it.

I did so, still only feeling the liquid slide through my mouth. It wasn't very pleasant.

She then got me up. For the first time, I was allowed to walk on my own at least. She stayed close to me though and led me back to the same room she'd been in. It was a bathroom, and was pretty clean despite my opinions of men's ability to keep anything clean. If this was Tye’s place, he was quite a clean person. That didn't surprise me. He was always dressed neatly.

She sat me down on the edge of the tub and started to pull my flats off. She dropped them to the floor and then got started removing my dress from me.

I didn't have any other clothes, but she went out to the other room a moment and came back with a set of plain clothes. They were basic things. Sweatpants and a plain white T-shirt. She finished removing all of my current garments and then started to run the water. Wrapping my hand tightly in a plastic bag and taping it there with more medical tape.

I was perfectly capable of taking care of this myself, but she didn't leave the bathroom as I cleaned myself, watching as the water running down the drain had a few streaks of red-brown color. There was a lot of blood that had just gotten on me. I used some of the green bar of soap I found in there to wash properly, an ordeal to do with one hand and with Alisha staring me down the entire time.

I didn't understand why she and Tye were continuing to treat me like this. Yes I had a cut on my hand, and even a concussion, but the worst had passed now. The dizziness wasn't there so much anymore. I still felt a little bit out of my body, but I was able to tell where my limbs were. And sure they kept saying I was in shock but… I felt fine. Where was the danger in that?

I turned the water off myself and Alisha handed me a towel to dry off with and once I was finished, the clothes.

There was no underwear included and Alisha wasn't offering me my former ones back so I guessed I was going commando for the time being. At least the clothes were new, and very soft material.

When I was dressed Alisha let me out of the bathroom and instead plopped me down on the couch in the living room and handed me the TV remote before simply pulling me close and leaning back on the couch and closing her eyes, looking exhausted.

I stared at the remote. Tye was feeding some fish in a large aquarium he had set up at the junction between dining room space and living room space.

They were ravenously attacking the cloud of flakes as it floated at the top of the tank. They were large fish and colorful things. I wondered if they were goldfish, they were various shades of orange white and grey-black

I settled in to watch the fish swimming about. It was soothing. And I was tired. My body hurt. Alisha pulled me a little closer, also trying to get some rest, though she had her phone in hand. The fish’s fins shimmered under the aquarium lights in bright colors. Tye opened that door he had tossed the cat in earlier and it bounded out happily, then froze and stared at Alisha and I again, wide eyed and concerned at our presence. He simply reached down and picked it up and let it climb onto his shoulders to observe from up high.

I gave it a slow blink, and then settled against Alisha to attempt sleep.

There was some kind of bad dream. I didn’t remember what it was, but the feeling in my chest was too familiar to not recognize it. I opened my eyes. There was a little more panic because this was most definitely not Alisha’s room, let alone her house.

No… it was Tye’s. I remembered that, now.

Alisha was slumped next to me, her head at an awkward angle on the couch. Asleep? Probably. The room was quite dim, the only light on being over the kitchenette.

I moved a little, and heard the couch creak. My hearing was back… kind of. Not perfect, I determined, gently tapping a finger against my skull. But I could faintly hear quiet things. The ringing was quieter too.

That was good, I determined.

My heart still hadn’t slowed, thumping readily in my chest…

Hopefully it hadn’t gotten hurt. A concussive blast like an explosion's shock wave wasn’t good for hearts… 

It still beat. There was a cold dread leaking into me now, just like in the dream or whatever… but I was awake now.

I sat up, slowly. Yes, my heart was beating quite fast and quite hard. But… I looked at my hands, spreading the fingers out. They were trembling a little bit too. Was I lacking water? I needed fluids, maybe. Dehydration could cause these symptoms. There had been blood spilled today, though not nearly as much from me as Alisha.

I stood, feeling a bit jittery.

Tye was nowhere to be seen but I helped myself to a glass from the cabinet and trickled the water, not wanting to wake anybody. It must be late at night, the windows were dark at least.

I filled the glass, watching as the clear liquid whirlpooled and rose.

The faucet turned off with a quiet squeak. My hand continued to tremble as I brought the glass to my lips, shaking here and there. The water was colder than expected and I flinched. The glass slid free of my hand and I watched it fall, the liquid sloshing out before the glass hit the hard tile and shattered with such a loud crash.

I flinched away, my heart renewing its frantic pace. Alisha’s surprised gasp and her subsequent question didn’t escape me but I was still shocked by all the glittering bits of sharp things on the floor, ready to cut and slice and kill.

What little control I had started to slip away. This wasn’t just dehydration, I realized.

Alisha hurried over and carefully stepped around the wet glass to pull me away from the mess.

“Kitten,” she hushed me.

I looked at her face, and she pushed my hair out of mine to look me in the eye.

“You’re safe,” she told me.

I shook my head. “Why— why am I…?” There was a warm drop that slid down my cheek. Blood?

I wiped it away to look but no, it was just water or sweat or tears. It must be tears. I was crying. Why was I crying?

She hushed me again and pulled me into a hug. “It’s okay,” she said softly.

I heard Tye come from around the corner.

“Everything okay?” he mumbled, still half-asleep.

Alisha didn’t let him see me, at least, but she did answer. “We’re okay. Just a water glass.” She pet my hair back more as I let the shaking take over. It was the kind of shivering that hurt deep in the muscles and sinew. Tye must’ve wandered off again, because I didn’t hear or see him as Alisha gently picked me up to sit me on the island counter. Her hands were on my face again, turning it to look at her.

“It’s okay, Kitten, just breathe,” she instructed.

I nodded and focused on just getting the air in and then out and then in and then out. This was familiar, actually. I was having a panic attack. Not dying, having a panic attack. I knew how to handle a panic attack and breathing was a good start.

Alisha kept her hands on me, not forcing me to do anything, but being there, and reassuring me a few more times that I was safe.

I did calm down, though the usual panic fallout was there. I was very cold and while the worst of the shivering was gone, there were still tremors here and there and a stiffness that would take time to fade.

“I’m so sorry,” I said after a bit. “I don’t know why this happens to me sometimes.”

“Kitten,” Alisha said. “The shock wore off. That’s all.” She smoothed my hair back again. “And you never have to apologize for your feelings.”

I sighed. “It’s nice to hear your voice again.” It was still a bit distant and muffled but it was intelligible and distinctively hers. My head gently rested on her shoulder as she was still standing in front of me. 

She pulled me a little closer to give me a proper hug. “It’s nice to hear yours, too. And I’m glad you're safe.” She kissed my forehead, then glanced behind her at where the hallway to the other rooms were and then went back for a more meaningful kiss, gently exploring my lips a bit. She didn’t go further, of course. We weren’t at home and neither one of us was in a physical or emotional state to get frisky. I still appreciated the tenderness. And then she pulled away and handed me a fresh glass of water.

“I’ll get this glass cleaned up,” she said and gave me a final peck on my cheek before going about doing so.

I sipped some water, feeling a bit more stable now and more confident about doing so.

When she had finished with the glass, Alisha helped me off the countertop and guided me back to the couch. She was more forward about holding me closer as we laid down.

“I’m sorry this had to happen,” she murmured as she got a blanket off the side and pulled it over us.

“It’s not your fault,” I told her.

She pulled me close. It was a very tight fit on this couch, even with ourselves flush against each other and her back pressed to the back cushions, one of my arms and legs were hanging off.

“Mm… try to get some rest,” she advised. “I know it's going to be hard but I’m not sure when we’ll get home.”

I nodded. “I’ll try.” I did not feel sleepy at all right now. I wasn’t panicking anymore but that didn’t mean my heart had fully calmed down or the feeling of anxiety had gone away. It was simply a bit more manageable.

“If you can’t get to sleep, I’m sure Tye has some zolpidem,” she advised.

“I’ll try first,” I said. I didn’t want to get dependent on taking drugs to handle stress and I knew my limits. I was stressed, but I was also as close to Alisha as we could possibly be without starting to put body parts inside of each other.

The sound of the aquarium water was also acting as white noise and the pretty fish colors were easy to track with my eyes until I started to feel sleepy.

I didn’t actually get to sleep, my thoughts kept turning too much for that, but I did drowze as Alisha held me, and that was probably the best I could ask for.